It sounds prudent, right? Get insurance for the little phone that you depend on so much, it's $4/month. Doesn't sound like much to protect a phone you paid over $100 for. But here's the thing: it means that you have to wait for the insurance company to send you a new phone, probably similar to the one you totaled, and that wait can be longer than you think.

I woke up Monday to find that the keyboard was undialable: it made two numbers appear when I dialed one. That made the phone not that useful unless I could get the bluetooth working and rely on the internal number pad, which isn't well set up. I went to Verizon, and was told how to call the insurance company and report the problem. They took my credit card over the phone for a $50 shipping fee, and said they would send me an email about it. Which meant I'd paid them over $100, partly in monthly fees, partly in shipping, to replace my phone.

That was when the trouble started: the person at the company transposed a couple of characters in the zip code, and the city was changed to a nearby one. DHL tried to reach me to tell me about the problem. Once I told them what had gone wrong, they said they needed the shipper to agree. Several phone calls later to Asurion insurance, they all saw the problem and assured me I was going to get the phone. This morning, I woke to an email from DHL saying that the phone was being shipped back to Asurion, and they would receive it next Monday. Hopefully, someone will try and get ahold of me about getting me a phone: but two weeks (so far) with the backup phone I got several years ago for emergencies is a heavier burden than you'd think. And I still don't have a replacement phone. I've been told about a lawsuit someone else filed against the company, and it strikes me as a way to fail to earn money while hoping for pennies. I do that enough accidentally without needing to do it on purpose. No thank you.

Next time? No insurance. I'll pay for whatever another phone costs, and I'll keep going. I like Verizon's service area, and I may switch to the Motorola Razr phone. Any suggestions?

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with a nice person from Asurion, who called me after they noticed the blog post (oh, the feeling of power....), and, after checking the address carefully, assured me that a replacement phone would arrive tomorrow. I'll need to tell Garo to expect it, and I'll tell you all what happens next. Who knows, maybe it will have been worth it...

IN PROGRESS: Received the next day an enV2 phone in the mail, along with instructions to mail back the phone (not the charger or anything else) in the enclosed bag, after charging up the new phone and following the smallprint instructions to activate the new phone. It's charging now, and looks pretty. Further updates as they come....

FURTHER UPDATE: The phone is up and running, smaller than the one it replaced but with a bigger keyboard, and I'm quite satisfied. Now, if I could only remember how to get the bluetooth running -- but, considering how rarely I bother answering the phone in the car, probably just as well.

Also get cheapy phone with no features, that costs like 20 bucks, as backup. Just in case. That's what I currently do. I haven't needed cheapy phone yet, but if my shiny phone ever breaks, I'm prepared.